News 07:00

BULLETIN 15 May 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The DA welcomes Sisisi Tolashe’s dismissal, saying her position in Cabinet was untenable
# Solidarity proposes a race-free South Africa by 2030
# And in rugby, the Lions, for now, only focus on Munster

# The DA says president Cyril Ramaphosa has done the right thing by firing Social Development minister, Sisisi Tolashe, as her position in the Cabinet was untenable. She failed to declare two luxury Chinese SUVs, donated to the ANC Women’s League in late 2023. Tolashe is also accused of overseeing irregular appointments of her chief of staff and former director-general, as well as the misuse of State-paid personnel. DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis says South Africans deserve a competent and credible minister:

Meanwhile, ActionSA has welcomed the firing of the minister but says this must not mark the end of the matter as she must now face the full might of the law. ActionSA is calling for Tolashe to be denied any loss-of-office gratuity payouts, saying she leaves office in disgrace. It also wants deductions to be made from her government pension.

# Trade union Solidarity has launched a new roadmap calling for a race-free South Africa by 2030. They propose phasing out race-based legislation and replacing it with policies focused on poverty, youth unemployment, skills development and economic growth. Solidarity’s Connie Mulder says current racial laws have failed to address unemployment and inequality. Mulder argues that empowerment should be based on socio-economic need rather than race: 

# Gauteng Finance MEC Nkululeko Dunga says, despite a 179-billion-rand budget for 2026/2027, the province is facing serious challenges, including underspending and the increasing non-payment of suppliers. The total underspend of budgets of several departments, including conditional grants, is around 1.4-billion-rand. Dunga says accruals have risen to 9.3-billion-rand, leaving service providers unpaid:

# Britain’s Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, has resigned, saying he has lost confidence in prime minister Keir Starmer. The prime minister is facing mounting pressure to step down following the Labour Party’s disastrous performance in the local elections last week. Setting out the reasons for his resignation, he pointed to progressive voters losing faith in the party, Starmer’s missteps, and the threat of Nigel Farage’s hard-right Reform UK party. Streeting is widely thought to be planning to challenge Starmer for the Labour leadership.

# Rugby: The Lions say they only focus on tomorrow’s United Rugby Championship match against Munster in Ireland and will, for now, ignore the possibility of qualifying for the quarterfinals or crashing out of contention. They are currently fifth on the log before the final group round, but could find themselves needing victory in Limerick to assure qualification if other results go against them. Forwards coach Wessel Roux says they are focusing on things they can control after last weekend’s disappointing loss to another Irish team, Leinster.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-54-cents and the euro at 19-rand-26-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-10-cents, and Bitcoin trades at 80-thousand-913-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-611-dollars-70-cents a fine ounce, and Brent crude oil is quoted at 104-dollars-22-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….